Review of Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter truly deserves the recognition and praise that it still gets, even if it was released over a decade ago. In an era bombarded by the successes of previous shounen predecessors, Yoshihiro Togashi's wonderful mind managed to craft an extremely unique story that juxtaposes itself with other shounen classics. Of course, in regards to the anime at least, Nippon Animation truthfully relayed the works of Togashi and elevated it even further. Nippon Animation polished the art style while splicing memorable sound tracks/openings and most importantly, breathed life into noteworthy action sequences. The following review aims to look at the highs and lows ofsuch an important series.
The Highs:
Just like other shounen series, the success of a show is often determined by the writing of the protagonist. Gon is a prime example of innocence and purity, a boy who embarked on a journey with a simple goal: to find his father but yet in search of his ambitions, he is thrown into a complex world that challenges his initial point of view. Immediately, he is easily relatable to the audience - a hardworking boy who chases his goal with unyielding determination. Of course like all shounen series, he meets new friends in the form of Killua, Kurapika and Leorio. All of whom are instrumental to his development as a character and his ability to traverse his adversities. These interactions help elevate the story and give meaning to character moments later down the line.
The lore is always an important element to a shounen series. Hunter x Hunter introduces a concept of Nen - a unique approach in giving these character their individual power and skill. As you watch the series, you begin learning all of the intricacies and complex nature of Nen. Also seeing how characters overcome certain boundaries to refine their ability to use and understand Nen. The multifaceted nature of Nen added to the power's mystery and intrigue. While the writing of Nen can be inconsistent at times, it added something new to the pantheon of shounen anime. Where in this case, characters develop their own powers making it so that each character's usage of Nen is unique and thus they embody their own abilities. In some shounen series, characters learn techniques from mentors, while here the mentors only act as a springboard to cultivate characters in achieving their own skills.
Animation and art as mentioned are top-notched. Super consistent throughout and thus finding a fault is extremely difficult. Even taking into consideration the action sequences. Hunter x Hunter focuses on important and specific action moments. Every time there's an action sequence, it's always special and executed well.
Character and World Building - Hunter x Hunter introduces us to a plethora of characters, each with their own agenda and worldview. Every character has a sense of intrigue, regardless of their minimal screentime. Notable mentions would be the Phantom Troupe Members, the Zoldyck Family, the Professional Hunters of the Hunter Association and the Chimera Ants. When the path of these characters aligned, there's always a sense of fascination and amazement in the way that they interact with the main cast.
The ending, though not covering the extent of the manga, is a pleasant closure to a long binge-watching journey. With heartwarming scenes, important character interactions and slice of life moments that leave a satisfying taste in the viewer watching.
The Lows:
The Chimera Ant Arc while highly praised is perhaps one of the least enjoyable arc in my opinion. While it had a darker tone and ominous atmosphere, the stakes were always belittled by some fun character moment. Relieving too much of the tension and thus the story sometimes become somewhat predictable. Not to mention the length of this arc, with 61 episodes, there were several pacing issues and questionable story plot points. These shortcomings also affected the Greed Island Arc as well.
In all honesty, Gon can be annoying at times. Just like his predecessors Goku and Naruto, Gon also exudes a sense of arrogance. Though not malicious, this sense of arrogance makes it so that he handles certain situations in an irritative manner. This is particularly prevalent in the Greed Island Arc and the Chimera Ant Arc. But again, just like any protagonist, there's always a shortcoming which further pushes them to improve themselves.
The show is a slow burner at first, it does take a while for the story to truly become super intense and entertaining. But this ultimately felt natural, even with the large episode count of 148 episodes, Togashi developed a good foundation for Gon and the rest of the cast before exploring newer territories in the story. That way, we are not thrown into shounen mayhem immediately.
Overall, I am extremely delighted to have sat through this one of a kind story like Hunter x Hunter. Though I am disappointed that I will never see the true conclusion of the story. Hopefully Togashi's health improves so that he is able to expand his narrative even further. And hopefully, his expansion will be animated one day :)